I believe that one of the biggest challenges for landscape photographers in places like the Colorado Plateau is to resist the urge to produce postcard images which reduce the landscape to a cliché. Working with the scenery of the area, specifically Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon and the new Grand Staircase-Escalante, has allowed me to solidify my artistic philosophy. The vistas are so overpowering in their immensity and beauty that it is nearly impossible to capture the "big picture." The camera simply cannot accommodate the view, much less do justice to it. My first attempts left me frustrated, but then I began to see that I could focus on a section of a convoluted canyon wall, or an ancient gnarled cottonwood tree, or the incongruous combination of cactus and lush oak, and create a truer impression of the landscape than the postcard view shots ever would. My aim, then, is to create an intimate view and to capture the fleeting moment that gives the land its spiritual quality. In short, I am seeking the ESSENTIAL LANDSCAPES.

Photography is about the art of seeing. I love to work with the more abstract elements in the natural world, and to focus on the subsidiary qualities of the landscape rather than the purely representational whole. While the southwest is wonderfully colorful, it is also full of marvelous textures and patterns. Millions of years of upheaval and erosion have left a variety of shapes and textures; these natural distortions lend themselves to the black and white image. Their intricate values of lightness and dark, and the subtle structures and compositions, can easily be missed by those who are not looking for them. Here, the essential nature of a place is revealed.

• Artist’s Biography •

David Pettit is a native Utahn, born and raised in Salt Lake City and living in Springdale, Utah, since 1980. David comes from a family of visual artists; his interest in photography was ignited when, as a small boy, his parents gave him a Brownie Camera. His formal training is in design drafting, art and photography at the University of Utah and Salt Lake Art Center School of Photography where he studied with Don Busath. He has worked as a professional photographer since 1977, starting out with portrait and commercial work, and eventually moving into landscape photography.

Inspired by the magnificent scenery of Zion and the surrounding area, he has devoted most of his time to scenic photography since moving to southern Utah. While his initial interest centered around Zion National Park where he lives, the recent creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has redirected some of his attention. His scenic photographs now hang in private and public collections around the world. His images of Utah’s national parks, wilderness areas, and remote areas have appeared in numerous publications.

Pettit has shown his work at the University of Utah Photography Exhibit, the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum at Utah State University, the Braithwaite Gallery at Southern Utah University, where he received the 1988 Southern Utah Invitational Art Exhibit "Purchase Award"; and the Dixie College Invitation Exhibit, where he has won "Best of Show" (1989), and "Best Landscape" (1992, 1993, & 1994). He has won the "People’s Choice" Award at the Annual Staircase Gallery Photo Exhibit in St. George, Utah in 1998 and 1999. His previous one-man exhibitions include the Nicolaysen Museum in Casper, Wyoming, the Springville Art Museum in Springville, Utah, the Driftwood Gallery in Springdale, Utah, the Braithwaite Gallery in Cedar City, Utah, and the St. George Art Museum in St. George, Utah.

Pettit has conducted workshops focusing on landscape and environmental photography with Canyon River Company. His work may be seen at the Zion Canyon Gallery in Springdale, Utah and the Boulder Mountain Lodge in Boulder, Utah.

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